The Barista
07 Small World
Season: 1
Episode: Solitudes
I have been contemplating for almost a week now as to what to say to Daniel
Jackson the next time I see him. See, I had received a very strange (and long!)
email from a friend of mine down at McMurdo and I hadn't a clue what to make of it.
I mean the odds that Daniel… I shake my head and go back to wiping down the
tables. I figure I'll suss it out by the time I see the guy.
Naturally that was the exact moment the good Dr. Jackson chose to walk through
the front door. The guy didn't look so good and I couldn't help but wonder if he goes
looking for trouble or if he's just one of those fortunate few who get lucky. Once
again he had that lack of sleep thing going for him, and I could see what appeared to
be a healing gash on his forehead. Ouch! Betcha that hurt. I'll say this for the guy
though, he might have looked a bit roughed up, but he sure seemed happy.
"Good morning Kira!" Daniel said with way more enthusiasm than I thought was
warranted. After all, it WAS barely 6 am. After observing Daniel Jackson for the last
six months, I had come to realize that he only got up before the sun because he was
forced too.
"Hey Daniel." I say giving him a small smile. "Double tall latté?"
"Better make it a triple." Daniel says flashing me a grin. "And let's make it a
breve."
"Caffeine and artery-clogging calories, eh Dr. Jackson?"
"I've been told that I need to eat more." Daniel said sheepishly. I pretend to eye
him critically. Well, all right. I DID eye him critically, but I wasn't just checking out
his ass ok? Daniel always seemed to have that 'Feed Me' look about him.
"Somehow, I don't think 12 oz of half and half is exactly what Janet wanted." I reply
placing the crème under the steamer.
"You remember Janet, huh?" Uh oh. Sheepish look again. Hadn't we already been
through this?
"She might be small, but that lady had presence!" Daniel laughs.
"I'll say so!" He says with a knowing nod. "Actually speaking of whom, can I get her
a double tall latte to go? Better make it with 1% milk."
"Sure." I quickly go to work on the drinks and wondered if I would be brave enough
to ask him. I mean what's the worst thing that can happen? He thinks me a total
freak and never comes in again? Yeah. That.
"How's school coming Kira?" Daniel asks conversationally.
"Good!" I reply with real enthusiasm. "I've just started a quarter long course
centered on the great libraries of Antiquity and am really looking forward to reading
everything I can on Alexandria."
"I can loan you a few books on the topic if you'd like?"
"Really?" Whoa. That would be fantastic. So fantastic that I really shouldn't blow it
by opening my mouth and asking him that question. Hear that Kira? Don't ask.
"Daniel?" I ask handing over both drinks.
"Hmm?" He answers handing me a $20.
"Have you been to Antarctica lately?" Naturally the moment that left my mouth
there was complete silence in the store. I'm not talking about the silence that comes
when two people aren't speaking, but the total silence of, well, utter and complete
silence. Apparently the Natalie Cole CD I had been listening to chose that exact
moment to end.
The look on Daniel's face told me everything I needed to know but I couldn't blame
the guy for attempting to put a little spin on things.
"Why do you ask?" His voice sounded odd and his face was a kaleidoscope of
conflicting emotions. Daniel knew instantly that he had blown it though. He shook
his head and made his way over to a table. He motioned for me to follow him. As if
I could deny this guy any request…
"Kira?" He says utterly dejected. "What do you know?"
"It's a bloody small planet Daniel." I say plopping myself into a hard plastic chair. To
my surprise Daniel burst out laughing. It took him several seconds to compose
himself.
"So spill it." He says.
"Right." I take a sip of the hot chocolate I'm drinking and take a deep breath. "My
friend is currently stationed as a GA down at McMurdo."
"GA?"
"General Assistant. It's the lowest paying job on the continent, but it IS still a job.
The GA's tend to be the ones to shovel snow, set up field camps- stuff like that.
She's been down there for nearly three months now."
"Uh huh."
"Well life at McMurdo is pretty mundane until the supply vessel comes in January.
The folks there work 6 days a week, 10 hours a day and tend to watch a lot of videos
and drink once off duty. Well, last Monday everything went ballistic. All the
Raytheon…" Daniel gave me a weird look.
"Raytheon is the sub-contractor working with the National Science Foundation folks."
I explain. "Well, that day at breakfast the dining hall was filled with rumors. Seems
the SAR team; the Search and Rescue guys, had been called out on a job at 2 o'clock
in the morning. No one knew where they were going or what they were doing, but
two helicopters and virtually all the McMurdo medical personal had gone with them.
Needless to say folks were curious."
"I can imagine." Came the non-committal reply.
"After breakfast my friend went to work helping a team move furniture into one of
the newly built dormitories. She had done quite a bit of furniture moving and had
told me it wasn't a big deal. Her words were, 'Beats standing in a gym pumping
iron.'" Daniel gave me a small smile.
"Unfortunately on the way out of the building she slipped on a patch of ice and the
bureau she had been helping to carry came crashing down on her leg."
"Ouch." Daniel said grimacing. I nodded. "Yeah." I take another sip of my drink
and glance at my watch. 6:15.
"Marcie was pretty certain her scream was loud enough to wake the dead and very
quickly folks had come out of the adjacent buildings to lend a hand. The bureau was
lifted up and Marcie was quickly picked up and carried over to medical." I grin.
"Daniel, my friend is about 5'2- maybe 110 pounds. She HATES being reminded how
little she is. Although her leg hurt like a son of a bitch, to hear her tell it, the
humiliation of being carried into the infirmary was the worst part of the whole thing.
It was a little after 11 am when Marcie, her studly savior Thomas and her GA partner
Sydney reached the infirmary." I pause and take another big gulp of my drink
before setting it down and looking at Daniel as if I'm about to tell him the biggest
secret in the world.
"They were stopped 5 feet before the infirmary doors." Daniel seemed to go a little
pale.
"They weren't!" I nod. He looks upset at that little snippet of news.
"Yep. And by a pair of military goons none of whom they had seen before! Daniel,
it's a mighty small base. Even if you don't know everyone's name, you usually know
his or her face. Marcie had never seen these guys before."
"Obviously she was allowed in." Daniel said this very matter of factly. My eyebrows
did a funny little arch as I processed the comment. Obviously?
"Of course they had to let her in, I mean her leg was definitely broken and
apparently Marcie was contemplating passing out at this stage. I've never broken a
bone myself, but I guess they hurt like a mother f.."
My mouth was SO going to be my downfall one day. "They hurt a lot." I say trying
not to dwell on my burning cheeks. Daniel hid a smile behind his coffee cup.
"Both Thomas and Sydney argued vehemently on Marcie's behalf. Loads of swearing
and threatening to sue if Marcie wasn't allowed in for treatment. Eventually the
military guys caved. They refused to allow Tom or Syd in, but they did finally come
to the conclusion that an injured young woman really shouldn't be hanging out in sub
0 temperature. Without much ado, Marcie was lifted out of Thomas' arms and into
one of the military guys'."
"Marcie probably wasn't too keen on that." Daniel said grimacing.
"Definitely." I nod. "She chose to show her appreciation by once again screaming
and then passing out." Daniel nodded. Nodded? Nodded as in, yeah- I bet that hurt
and was enough to make a person pass out, or nodded as in- yeah I remember
hearing that. Curiouser and curiouser.
"She wasn't out very long though because when she came to, someone was taking
her blood pressure and asking her to rate her pain on a scale of 1 to 10. She was
lying on a bed in a far corner of the infirmary and could hear what sounded to be like
a dozen different voices through the curtain surrounding her bed. Someone had just
given her a shot and as the pain faded, so did the distinct words associated with the
voices. Marcie could tell they were shocking someone, you know like they do on
ER?" Daniel nodded grimly.
"She kept hearing various beeping noises alongside a lot of really worried, really loud
voices." Daniel had turned even paler and had begun to unconsciously hug his ribs.
Damn. I really shouldn't be talking about this should I? I take a deep breath and
continue.
"Marcie awoke the second time just as they were finishing up plastering her leg.
Apparently someone was very keen to move her out of the infirmary as quickly as
possible but the doctor working on her leg refused to do so for at least another hour.
Apparently he had some pretty vicious-sounding words with some muckity-muck.
Marce was told to keep her leg elevated as the plaster was drying and try and get
some sleep. The doc would return in 45 minutes or so.
So there she was lying in a slightly darkened room trying to make sense of
everything that had happened and all the strange voices around her, when suddenly
someone not medical walks inside. She instantly knew he wasn't a doc and at first
thought he was another army goon- but his mannerisms seemed all wrong to be
military." Daniel seemed to be shrinking into his chair before my very eyes. I really
should stop. Really. Ah Daniel…
I lower my voice to something just above a whisper and finish the story.
"The guy looked like a car-wreck victim she said. He didn't notice her in the
beginning and stumbled into the room gulping large quantities of air and throwing
himself into one of the chairs in the far corner before covering his face with his
hands." I bit my lip. Daniel looked crest-fallen. I needed to stop.
"I know what happened next Kira." Daniel says in a voice that nearly tore my heart
in two. I reach out a give Daniel's hand a brief squeeze. Forward? Nahh- I was just
trying to be a friend.
"All she told me was that the man's name was Daniel and that he was very, very
worried about his two friends." Daniel nodded but didn't offer me any explanations.
That's ok.
"I still wouldn't have even thought of you except for one thing."
"What?" Daniel croaked looking into my eyes.
"As you and Marcie were talking another woman came into the room. She looked
over at Marcie with surprise but still came up to Daniel and gave him a brief hug.
She then said 'Sam and the Colonel are going to be all right.' Those were the exact
words Marcie told me."
We sat in silence for several long seconds.
"That was Dr. Janet wasn't it?" I ask.
Daniel nods and clears his throat. "Marcie doing ok?" I smile- god, this guy is SO
nice. "Yep. She's scheduled to fly out on the next plane and will be spending most
of her recuperation time in Christchurch, New Zealand. Much nicer than Colorado in
the middle of February don't ya think?" Daniel gives a dry chuckle.
The sound of someone clearing his voice gets my attention. Shit! I glance at my
watch; it was after 6:30. I quickly pull myself to my feet and head to the counter to
ring up Daniel's order. I apologize to the man waiting and quickly count out Daniel's
change and hand it over. Daniel drops a $5 bill into the tip jar.
I am already at the espresso machine whipping up a Grande no foam nonfat latté
when I realized I hadn't asked Daniel what I really wanted to know.
"Daniel!" I yell over the noise of the machine.
"Yeah?" He answers turning around.
"Are Captain Sam and Colonel Jack really ok?" He gives me a HUGE smile.
"They're going to be just fine." He says. I give him a huge grin in return and get
back to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone has a nice smile on his or her faces right? Good!
At some point I would love to write the flip side to this fic (and the Hospital Scrubs
one as well) You know, how Daniel handled being in McMurdo while Jack and Sam
were obviously fighting for their lives. Naturally I'd have him meet one injured GA…
It's just an idea floating around. Hope y'all are still enjoying.
~d
07 Small World
Season: 1
Episode: Solitudes
I have been contemplating for almost a week now as to what to say to Daniel
Jackson the next time I see him. See, I had received a very strange (and long!)
email from a friend of mine down at McMurdo and I hadn't a clue what to make of it.
I mean the odds that Daniel… I shake my head and go back to wiping down the
tables. I figure I'll suss it out by the time I see the guy.
Naturally that was the exact moment the good Dr. Jackson chose to walk through
the front door. The guy didn't look so good and I couldn't help but wonder if he goes
looking for trouble or if he's just one of those fortunate few who get lucky. Once
again he had that lack of sleep thing going for him, and I could see what appeared to
be a healing gash on his forehead. Ouch! Betcha that hurt. I'll say this for the guy
though, he might have looked a bit roughed up, but he sure seemed happy.
"Good morning Kira!" Daniel said with way more enthusiasm than I thought was
warranted. After all, it WAS barely 6 am. After observing Daniel Jackson for the last
six months, I had come to realize that he only got up before the sun because he was
forced too.
"Hey Daniel." I say giving him a small smile. "Double tall latté?"
"Better make it a triple." Daniel says flashing me a grin. "And let's make it a
breve."
"Caffeine and artery-clogging calories, eh Dr. Jackson?"
"I've been told that I need to eat more." Daniel said sheepishly. I pretend to eye
him critically. Well, all right. I DID eye him critically, but I wasn't just checking out
his ass ok? Daniel always seemed to have that 'Feed Me' look about him.
"Somehow, I don't think 12 oz of half and half is exactly what Janet wanted." I reply
placing the crème under the steamer.
"You remember Janet, huh?" Uh oh. Sheepish look again. Hadn't we already been
through this?
"She might be small, but that lady had presence!" Daniel laughs.
"I'll say so!" He says with a knowing nod. "Actually speaking of whom, can I get her
a double tall latte to go? Better make it with 1% milk."
"Sure." I quickly go to work on the drinks and wondered if I would be brave enough
to ask him. I mean what's the worst thing that can happen? He thinks me a total
freak and never comes in again? Yeah. That.
"How's school coming Kira?" Daniel asks conversationally.
"Good!" I reply with real enthusiasm. "I've just started a quarter long course
centered on the great libraries of Antiquity and am really looking forward to reading
everything I can on Alexandria."
"I can loan you a few books on the topic if you'd like?"
"Really?" Whoa. That would be fantastic. So fantastic that I really shouldn't blow it
by opening my mouth and asking him that question. Hear that Kira? Don't ask.
"Daniel?" I ask handing over both drinks.
"Hmm?" He answers handing me a $20.
"Have you been to Antarctica lately?" Naturally the moment that left my mouth
there was complete silence in the store. I'm not talking about the silence that comes
when two people aren't speaking, but the total silence of, well, utter and complete
silence. Apparently the Natalie Cole CD I had been listening to chose that exact
moment to end.
The look on Daniel's face told me everything I needed to know but I couldn't blame
the guy for attempting to put a little spin on things.
"Why do you ask?" His voice sounded odd and his face was a kaleidoscope of
conflicting emotions. Daniel knew instantly that he had blown it though. He shook
his head and made his way over to a table. He motioned for me to follow him. As if
I could deny this guy any request…
"Kira?" He says utterly dejected. "What do you know?"
"It's a bloody small planet Daniel." I say plopping myself into a hard plastic chair. To
my surprise Daniel burst out laughing. It took him several seconds to compose
himself.
"So spill it." He says.
"Right." I take a sip of the hot chocolate I'm drinking and take a deep breath. "My
friend is currently stationed as a GA down at McMurdo."
"GA?"
"General Assistant. It's the lowest paying job on the continent, but it IS still a job.
The GA's tend to be the ones to shovel snow, set up field camps- stuff like that.
She's been down there for nearly three months now."
"Uh huh."
"Well life at McMurdo is pretty mundane until the supply vessel comes in January.
The folks there work 6 days a week, 10 hours a day and tend to watch a lot of videos
and drink once off duty. Well, last Monday everything went ballistic. All the
Raytheon…" Daniel gave me a weird look.
"Raytheon is the sub-contractor working with the National Science Foundation folks."
I explain. "Well, that day at breakfast the dining hall was filled with rumors. Seems
the SAR team; the Search and Rescue guys, had been called out on a job at 2 o'clock
in the morning. No one knew where they were going or what they were doing, but
two helicopters and virtually all the McMurdo medical personal had gone with them.
Needless to say folks were curious."
"I can imagine." Came the non-committal reply.
"After breakfast my friend went to work helping a team move furniture into one of
the newly built dormitories. She had done quite a bit of furniture moving and had
told me it wasn't a big deal. Her words were, 'Beats standing in a gym pumping
iron.'" Daniel gave me a small smile.
"Unfortunately on the way out of the building she slipped on a patch of ice and the
bureau she had been helping to carry came crashing down on her leg."
"Ouch." Daniel said grimacing. I nodded. "Yeah." I take another sip of my drink
and glance at my watch. 6:15.
"Marcie was pretty certain her scream was loud enough to wake the dead and very
quickly folks had come out of the adjacent buildings to lend a hand. The bureau was
lifted up and Marcie was quickly picked up and carried over to medical." I grin.
"Daniel, my friend is about 5'2- maybe 110 pounds. She HATES being reminded how
little she is. Although her leg hurt like a son of a bitch, to hear her tell it, the
humiliation of being carried into the infirmary was the worst part of the whole thing.
It was a little after 11 am when Marcie, her studly savior Thomas and her GA partner
Sydney reached the infirmary." I pause and take another big gulp of my drink
before setting it down and looking at Daniel as if I'm about to tell him the biggest
secret in the world.
"They were stopped 5 feet before the infirmary doors." Daniel seemed to go a little
pale.
"They weren't!" I nod. He looks upset at that little snippet of news.
"Yep. And by a pair of military goons none of whom they had seen before! Daniel,
it's a mighty small base. Even if you don't know everyone's name, you usually know
his or her face. Marcie had never seen these guys before."
"Obviously she was allowed in." Daniel said this very matter of factly. My eyebrows
did a funny little arch as I processed the comment. Obviously?
"Of course they had to let her in, I mean her leg was definitely broken and
apparently Marcie was contemplating passing out at this stage. I've never broken a
bone myself, but I guess they hurt like a mother f.."
My mouth was SO going to be my downfall one day. "They hurt a lot." I say trying
not to dwell on my burning cheeks. Daniel hid a smile behind his coffee cup.
"Both Thomas and Sydney argued vehemently on Marcie's behalf. Loads of swearing
and threatening to sue if Marcie wasn't allowed in for treatment. Eventually the
military guys caved. They refused to allow Tom or Syd in, but they did finally come
to the conclusion that an injured young woman really shouldn't be hanging out in sub
0 temperature. Without much ado, Marcie was lifted out of Thomas' arms and into
one of the military guys'."
"Marcie probably wasn't too keen on that." Daniel said grimacing.
"Definitely." I nod. "She chose to show her appreciation by once again screaming
and then passing out." Daniel nodded. Nodded? Nodded as in, yeah- I bet that hurt
and was enough to make a person pass out, or nodded as in- yeah I remember
hearing that. Curiouser and curiouser.
"She wasn't out very long though because when she came to, someone was taking
her blood pressure and asking her to rate her pain on a scale of 1 to 10. She was
lying on a bed in a far corner of the infirmary and could hear what sounded to be like
a dozen different voices through the curtain surrounding her bed. Someone had just
given her a shot and as the pain faded, so did the distinct words associated with the
voices. Marcie could tell they were shocking someone, you know like they do on
ER?" Daniel nodded grimly.
"She kept hearing various beeping noises alongside a lot of really worried, really loud
voices." Daniel had turned even paler and had begun to unconsciously hug his ribs.
Damn. I really shouldn't be talking about this should I? I take a deep breath and
continue.
"Marcie awoke the second time just as they were finishing up plastering her leg.
Apparently someone was very keen to move her out of the infirmary as quickly as
possible but the doctor working on her leg refused to do so for at least another hour.
Apparently he had some pretty vicious-sounding words with some muckity-muck.
Marce was told to keep her leg elevated as the plaster was drying and try and get
some sleep. The doc would return in 45 minutes or so.
So there she was lying in a slightly darkened room trying to make sense of
everything that had happened and all the strange voices around her, when suddenly
someone not medical walks inside. She instantly knew he wasn't a doc and at first
thought he was another army goon- but his mannerisms seemed all wrong to be
military." Daniel seemed to be shrinking into his chair before my very eyes. I really
should stop. Really. Ah Daniel…
I lower my voice to something just above a whisper and finish the story.
"The guy looked like a car-wreck victim she said. He didn't notice her in the
beginning and stumbled into the room gulping large quantities of air and throwing
himself into one of the chairs in the far corner before covering his face with his
hands." I bit my lip. Daniel looked crest-fallen. I needed to stop.
"I know what happened next Kira." Daniel says in a voice that nearly tore my heart
in two. I reach out a give Daniel's hand a brief squeeze. Forward? Nahh- I was just
trying to be a friend.
"All she told me was that the man's name was Daniel and that he was very, very
worried about his two friends." Daniel nodded but didn't offer me any explanations.
That's ok.
"I still wouldn't have even thought of you except for one thing."
"What?" Daniel croaked looking into my eyes.
"As you and Marcie were talking another woman came into the room. She looked
over at Marcie with surprise but still came up to Daniel and gave him a brief hug.
She then said 'Sam and the Colonel are going to be all right.' Those were the exact
words Marcie told me."
We sat in silence for several long seconds.
"That was Dr. Janet wasn't it?" I ask.
Daniel nods and clears his throat. "Marcie doing ok?" I smile- god, this guy is SO
nice. "Yep. She's scheduled to fly out on the next plane and will be spending most
of her recuperation time in Christchurch, New Zealand. Much nicer than Colorado in
the middle of February don't ya think?" Daniel gives a dry chuckle.
The sound of someone clearing his voice gets my attention. Shit! I glance at my
watch; it was after 6:30. I quickly pull myself to my feet and head to the counter to
ring up Daniel's order. I apologize to the man waiting and quickly count out Daniel's
change and hand it over. Daniel drops a $5 bill into the tip jar.
I am already at the espresso machine whipping up a Grande no foam nonfat latté
when I realized I hadn't asked Daniel what I really wanted to know.
"Daniel!" I yell over the noise of the machine.
"Yeah?" He answers turning around.
"Are Captain Sam and Colonel Jack really ok?" He gives me a HUGE smile.
"They're going to be just fine." He says. I give him a huge grin in return and get
back to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone has a nice smile on his or her faces right? Good!
At some point I would love to write the flip side to this fic (and the Hospital Scrubs
one as well) You know, how Daniel handled being in McMurdo while Jack and Sam
were obviously fighting for their lives. Naturally I'd have him meet one injured GA…
It's just an idea floating around. Hope y'all are still enjoying.
~d